Maddie Ziegler Talks The Price Of Fame, Says 'Dance Moms' Cast Can No Longer Go To The Mall

Maddie Ziegler talks fame, "Dance Moms" and more in the May issue of Nylon magazine. Photo: Nylon/Beth Garrabrant

The cast of Lifetime’s reality series “Dance Moms” is officially at the point where they can no longer go out in public without being recognized. One of the show’s leads, 12-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler, dished about her experiences with fame in the May issue of Nylon magazine.

Maddie, who recently received critical acclaim for her roles in Australian pop star Sia’s music videos “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart” and “Big Girls Cry,” says leading a normal life has become a daily struggle. “My friends and I on the show, we don’t consider ourselves to be famous,” she said. “We act like normal kids, but sometimes it’s hard for us if we go out for ice cream, or go shopping at the mall, because a big group of people will stop us and ask for photos.”

And despite constantly flying back and forth between her home in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles (her coach, Abby Lee Miller, is currently opening a West Coast studio), appearing on hit shows like “Dancing With the Stars” and walking red carpets, Maddie says her life isn’t glamorous. “Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you must live in LA, the glamorous life,’ and I really don’t,” she told the magazine. “I’m in a small house, in Pittsburgh, in the snow.”

While the “Dance Moms” star claims she does her best to live a normal life, she did admit she is pursuing other jobs in entertainment. When she isn’t dancing as part of Miller’s elite junior team, Maddie says she is working on her acting skills – skills she recently flaunted on a Season 5 episode of “Dance Moms.”

“I want to be an actress,” the recent "Austin & Ally" guest star said. “I’ve been auditioning lately. I’d love to be on scripted TV shows and movies, but not just one – I want to be in a lot of them!”

So, what else is in the pipeline for Maddie? In March, Miller revealed her star dancer was prepping for a career in music. If that pans out, Maddie may have a shot at making another one of her dreams come true: performing on Broadway. “I’d also love to sing, and possibly be on Broadway,” she told Nylon.

Maddie made her debut on “Dance Moms” in 2011 along with her mom, Melissa Gisoni, and her sister Mackenzie Ziegler, now 10. Gisoni and her daughters are expected to return to the series later this year for the second half of Season 5.